Chapter 255

Dumb Luck (1)

Title: Come See Our Gallery Icon

Wild Grylls

(A photo of Wonmo sitting down with a plop)

(A photo of Wonmo staring intently at the camera)

(A photo of Wonmo wearing a wooden crown)

(A photo of Wonmo smiling brightly)

(A photo of Wonmo reaching out for food)

Here are some photos of our current Gallery Icon. Everyone, enjoy.

└ Heavenly Demon: Where did that wooden crown come from?

└ Wild Grylls: I carved it myself, haha.

└ SwordMaster: You’re very good with your hands. Don’t you have any more photos?

└ Wild Grylls: Wonmo started complaining, so I couldn’t take any more.

└ SwordMaster: That’s a little disappointing.

└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: If you do not immediately upload five more photos and three videos, I’ll ban you!

└ Wild Grylls: Our Gallery Icon will be sad if you ban me.

└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: Then I have no choice! I’ll have to curse you instead, Mr. Grylls!

└ Wild Grylls: Excuse me?;;

└ She’s cursing him just because he won’t show us the Gallery Icon, lmaooo.

...

└ Ah, lmaooo. Hurry up and post more pictures of the Gallery Icon! We need them to make more memes!

A curse from the Hero of all people was a little frightening.

Those commenters had probably joined in without realizing she was a real Hero.

I let out a quiet laugh.

└ Princess Cheonggu: Someday, our Gallery Icon will grow much bigger and fiercer... But won’t he still be adorable?

└ Don’t worry. We’ve already decided that Tyrano will be the next Gallery Icon.

└ Dragons grow slowly anyway. So Tyrano should definitely be next, lmao.

└ Princess Cheonggu: You’re all so cruel. You’re already deciding on the next Gallery Icon. How heartless.

└ Would you rather Grylls became the next one?

└ Princess Cheonggu: Sometimes, I think it’s acceptable to be heartless.

└ Good. At least you’re honest, lmaooo.

└ Tyrano is obviously better than some hairy guy, lmao.

└ Wonmo is covered in hair too, though.

└ But he’s cute.

└ PraiseTheSun: Ah, I want to post my pet already, lmao.

└ Doesn’t Setan raise lions or something?

└ PraiseTheSun: Yeah, but mine is something a little different.

└ What is it?

└ PraiseTheSun: It hasn’t been born yet.

└ Posting pictures of your own baby is a little...

└ Don’t dark elves also have low fertility rates?

└ It’s a mixed-blood child with a human, so the chances are higher than for elves, but they’re still low.

└ PraiseTheSun: It’s not my child. It belongs to someone else, so just wait, lmao.

The moment I uploaded pictures of Wonmo, our newly elected Gallery Icon, comments poured in.

I had not expected Wonmo to become the Gallery Icon, but as everyone said, he was adorable, so it was fine.

’Tyrano just didn’t have enough time to show off his charms.’

Of course, Tyrano was adorable too.

Wonmo possessed a more conventional kind of cuteness, while Tyrano was cute in a way that seemed straight out of a cartoon.

I handed snacks to the two creatures who would be responsible for soothing everyone at the shelter from now on.

The only snacks I had were sweet potatoes, but those were more than enough.

’They really love sweet potatoes.’

Of all the snacks they had tried, sweet potatoes were by far the most popular.

Thanks to that, I had no choice but to plant more of them than anything else. I asked GrowUpStrong to provide all the seedlings.

After watching Wonmo and Tyrano eat their sweet potatoes, I stepped outside the cave.

I needed to finish everything before summer arrived.

’First, I need to finish the drying shed...’

Building a drying shed was extremely simple.

All I had to do was construct a well-ventilated building and place charcoal inside it.

Charcoal was remarkably versatile. It could even absorb moisture.

That was something I had learned from the Gallery.

Of course, for better drying, I should also design it so that I could raise the temperature inside.

’More importantly, I’m worried about that pumpkin.’

The colossal pumpkin left behind by Pumpkin Jack after we defeated him last time.

It had been too difficult to process, so I had left it alone. But with summer approaching, it was becoming a problem.

What if it rotted and attracted insects?

Perhaps insects had already eaten away at the inside. If so, I would have to discard the whole thing.

’Even disposing of it will be a pain.’

The best method would be to eat it all immediately, but even though my little ones ate like pigs, that would be impossible.

For now, all I could do was inspect it and apply insect repellent to my body beforehand.

At least then, I would not have to worry about being bitten.

With that thought, I decided to begin constructing the drying shed first.

’This place doesn’t become particularly humid even when it rains... but better safe than sorry.’

There was no need to make the drying shed large.

It only needed to be about the size of two single-person restroom stalls placed side by side.

Naturally, I used bricks as the building material and spread straw over the floor to keep moisture from seeping up through the ground.

I still had straw left over from harvesting rice, so there was no need to purchase any from the auction house.

’I wish I had glass windows.’

Drying things in sunlight would have been best, but unfortunately, I had no glass.

My best option was simply to make the interior as dry and warm as possible.

To that end, I installed a small fireplace as well.

That should make drying things easier.

Once I added a drainage channel, construction of the drying shed was complete.

Now it was time to arrange the interior.

I placed charcoal at various points and lit the fireplace to raise the temperature.

Once it felt warm enough, I brought in shelves purchased from the auction house and placed the dates on them.

’They said they’ll be ready once they develop a white powdery coating like dried persimmons, right?’

All that remained was to hang a curtain over the entrance.

The drying shed was complete.

I had built it rather roughly, so there might be some trial and error.

Still, the forest itself was dry, so it should be good enough.

"Kkobong, an enormous swarm of insects will appear tomorrow or the day after, so be careful."

"Understood."

"Here’s some insect repellent. Apply it thoroughly."

Kkobong, who had nearly been devoured by the insect swarm a month ago, obediently followed my instructions.

At least he had a proper house to live in now, so he should be fine.

’The sky whale usually arrives sometime after noon...’

I was thinking that I could watch the sky whale while I was at it when Cain suddenly came to mind.

Had Cain ever seen a sky whale before?

They said he had lived after the Mythical Age, but I was still curious.

"Mr. Cain, have you ever seen a sky whale?"

[A sky whale? Do you mean the whale that floats through the heavens?]

"Yes. We might be able to see one tomorrow."

[I thought they had gone extinct. How fascinating.]

Extinct, huh?

That meant he at least knew they had once existed.

As the first Paladin, he must have witnessed far more supernatural phenomena than people of the modern era.

"So you already believed they existed?"

[Of course. However, they all disappeared at some point. It is believed that humanity hunted them into extinction through excessive whaling.]

"Humans hunted sky whales?"

[Humanity was waging war against dragons at the time. Hunting sky whales was hardly beyond them.]

Come to think of it, whaling a sky whale probably would have been easier than hunting a dragon.

That aside, it showed just how terrifying humanity’s greed could be.

[Incidentally, if sky whales still exist, there is a high probability that other such beings have survived as well.]

"Such as?"

[What else? I mean mythical beings such as Cyclopes and Hydras. Come to think of it, the master of that upside-down waterfall we saw before would be another example.]

"That’s very helpful information. Maybe I should take this opportunity to study mythology."

In most cases, such beings would probably be the ancient guardians or rulers of their respective regions.

Alternatively, the Forest of Four Seasons might have caused genetic mutations in them.

[You need not worry too much. Even creatures from the Mythical Age are not immortal.]

"And who hunted them? If the myths are anything to go by, it was usually gods or heroes comparable to them."

[You know your myths well. You may become such a hero yourself one day.]

Thanks for the encouragement, at least.

I chuckled and began preparing dinner.

With dragons and other powerful creatures around, I doubted whether I could ever become that strong.

’Still, I’ve been comparatively lucky. I just have to keep looking for ways to survive.’

Because the Forest of Four Seasons contained countless natural environments, the starting points people received could fall at either extreme.

Like Ludwig and me, they might begin somewhere relatively manageable.

But if they were unlucky, they could find themselves in a radioactive wasteland or a volcanic region.

Even if they were fortunate enough to land in an ordinary forest, they would have no idea what lived there.

’I wonder where the people who were illegally dumped here ended up.’

The thought made me curious for a moment, but I quickly dismissed it.

’Let’s plant sweet potatoes.’

Right now, growing sweet potatoes for my little ones was more important.

***

"Fucking hell."

A man spat out a vicious curse in the language of the Central Plains.

He was one of the Blood Cult remnants Yu Sowol had failed to catch and had now entered the Forest of Four Seasons.

Surviving the Heavenly Demon—a being who could scarcely be described as anything less than a natural disaster—had been nothing short of a miracle.

But from the moment he entered the Forest of Four Seasons, miracles ceased to occur.

If anything, the opposite happened.

"How the hell am I supposed to get out of here?"

He was well acquainted with the Forest of Four Seasons’ infamy.

Furthermore, important information about it had recently been revealed.

That was why the man had prepared himself thoroughly.

He had undergone grueling training for the resurrection of the Blood Cult.

Internal energy could not be used within the Forest of Four Seasons, so he had focused on tempering his external body.

Indeed, the moment he entered the forest, a powerful energy pressed down upon him, preventing him from using any internal energy whatsoever.

He had briefly felt relieved, thinking his training had paid off.

Only briefly.

Splash. Splash.

Blue waves rolled across the surface of the water, creating a magnificent sight.

Had he come merely to admire the scenery, he might have been awestruck.

But he was currently carrying out a sacred mission.

"Goddammit..."

There was ocean in every direction.

The man cursed again.

Fortunately, there was at least a patch of land beneath his feet. Otherwise, he would already have been in grave danger.

That did not change the fact that he was trapped with nowhere to go.

This was the ocean, of all places.

Nothing was visible beyond the horizon, so he could not possibly swim across it.

It was the perfect terrain to call a deserted island.

The only fortunate thing was that there were plenty of trees.

’I have no choice. I’ll have to build a raft.’

Having made his decision, the man pulled out an axe.

As luck would have it, his weapon of choice was an axe.

Furthermore, thanks to the external conditioning he had cultivated, felling trees was not difficult.

Whoosh!

While he diligently worked on his raft, a gigantic fish leaped out of the ocean.

It was easily more than five meters long.

The man froze when he saw it.

’...I just need to watch out for that.’

Or so he thought.

SPLASH!

Then a fish several times larger soared out of the water and swallowed the first one whole.

The ocean was, if anything, even more dangerous than the land.

It was by no means safe.

There was a reason seafaring was considered one of the most dangerous professions in the world.

Could he give up, then?

No. That was not an option either.

If he remained on this island, starvation would inevitably claim him.

’For the resurrection of the Blood Cult.’

The man pushed his sturdy raft into the ocean.

He climbed aboard and began rowing with a paddle he had fashioned himself.

The land gradually receded into the distance, and the man remained intensely alert.

’If I can just reach the next landmass...’

RUMBLE!

He had not been away from the island for long when an enormous vibration suddenly shook the area.

A vibration coming from the ocean rather than the land.

It was not a good sign.

No—it was nothing but a terrible omen.

The man hurriedly looked around.

"D-don’t tell me it’s another fish..."

Was that enormous fish from earlier about to leap out of the water again?

But the vibration was far too powerful.

Even the island he had just departed was trembling.

The man scanned his surroundings, trying to understand what was happening.

There was nothing in sight.

"What the hell is—"

SPLAAAAASH!

The man never finished speaking.

A colossal mouth—large enough to swallow even the island he had landed on—erupted from beneath the ocean and effortlessly swallowed his raft.

From the man’s perspective, an immense shadow suddenly fell over him.

Then everything went dark.

"Aaaaaaargh!"

As if that were not bad enough, he began plummeting downward.

His thoroughly tempered external body?

It was utterly meaningless.

Once he was swallowed and digested, both internal and external cultivation would melt away alike.

However, the man did not yet understand his fate.

He had no idea what had just happened.

SPLAAAAASH!

Meanwhile, the creature that had swallowed him burst from the ocean and soared into the sky.

Its fins moved like wings, slowly but powerfully.

Its body, vast enough to be mistaken for an island, rose gracefully into the heavens.

—Bwooooooo!

The sky whale ascended into the sky.

"Aaaaaaargh! Y-you bastard!"

"Hissssss!"

"I’ll make you my food!"

Meanwhile, inside its stomach, the man’s desperate struggle for survival had begun.